I am having a really hard time wrapping my head around the fact that I am leaving for New Zealand in three days. I mean I've done a lot of reading and some basic planning, but it doesn't seem real. It doesn't seem real in a way that no other trip preceding it has. I can't quite figure out why...maybe because it is so far away and I still have a lot of travel before I get there or maybe because it has always been one of those dream spots for me. Whatever the reason is, I am really looking forward to it. I never get too excited before I actually get on the plane and even then it's more curiosity than excitement. I am quite a strange one, I have to say.
My plans are pretty basic, arrive after lots o' flying, fly some more and then drive a couple of hours to my first spot. Do a full day hike the next day, rest a day and then start to head up the West Coast of the South Island and then eventually hit a few spots on the North. It will be a lot of driving but I think it's worth it. I've planned some, and left some open for any whimsical mood that might strike me. All in all I plan to take in the scenery about all else, oh and maybe meditate and write a bit. Even though I already wish I had longer, I know this will not be my only trip to New Zealand, I can just feel it. (Insert new-agey geeky joke here)
So here is what my Sunday looks like -
Boston - LAX - 5.5 hour flight
2 hour layover
LAX - Auckland 13 hour flight
5 hour layover
Auckland - Queenstown 1.5 hour flight
Queenstown - Te Anau - 2.5 hours Drive
I will be one very tired but very happy person. Just a fun note, April 16th will not exist for me at all. That still just blows my mind. Air travel no matter how much I do it, will always amaze me.
This will also be my first time flying across the international date line since when I went to Japan I went from Europe. Fun :)
My plans are pretty basic, arrive after lots o' flying, fly some more and then drive a couple of hours to my first spot. Do a full day hike the next day, rest a day and then start to head up the West Coast of the South Island and then eventually hit a few spots on the North. It will be a lot of driving but I think it's worth it. I've planned some, and left some open for any whimsical mood that might strike me. All in all I plan to take in the scenery about all else, oh and maybe meditate and write a bit. Even though I already wish I had longer, I know this will not be my only trip to New Zealand, I can just feel it. (Insert new-agey geeky joke here)
So here is what my Sunday looks like -
Boston - LAX - 5.5 hour flight
2 hour layover
LAX - Auckland 13 hour flight
5 hour layover
Auckland - Queenstown 1.5 hour flight
Queenstown - Te Anau - 2.5 hours Drive
I will be one very tired but very happy person. Just a fun note, April 16th will not exist for me at all. That still just blows my mind. Air travel no matter how much I do it, will always amaze me.
This will also be my first time flying across the international date line since when I went to Japan I went from Europe. Fun :)